20.1 μέμνησο ὅτι οὐχ ὁ λοιδορῶν ἢ ὁ τύπτων ὑβρίζει, ἀλλὰ τὸ δόγμα τὸ περὶ τούτων ὡς ὑβριζόντων. ὅταν οὖν ἐρεθίσῃ σέ τις, ἴσθι ὅτι ἡ σή σε ὑπόληψις ἠρέθισε. τοιγαροῦν ἐν πρώτοις πειρῶ ὑπὸ τῆς φαντασίας μὴ συναρπασθῆναι· ἂν γὰρ ἅπαξ χρόνου καὶ διατριβῆς τύχῃς, ῥᾷον κρατήσεις σεαυτοῦ.
notes
It is the Opinion of Being Insulted That Irritates You
As in Ch. 5, Epictetus argues that it is not the people who insult you, but the opinion that you have been insulted, which irritates you.
ἴσθι: > οἶδα, 2 sg. perf. act. imper.
ἐν πρώτοις: “first” (adverbial)
πειρῶ: > πειράω, 2 sg. pres. mid. imper.
συναρπασθῆναι: > συναρπάζω, aor. pass. infin.
ἂν ἅπαξ χρόνου καὶ διατριβῆς τύχῃς: “once you find time and delay.” τύχῃς: > τύγχανω (+ gen.), 2sg. aor. act. subj. ἅπαξ normally means “one time,” but in combination with εἰ (ἐάν, ἄν, ἤν, ἐπεί) it means “once” in the sense of “after.”
ῥᾷον: neuter accusative adjective (comparative degree of ῥᾴδιος, -α, -ον) used adverbially (G. 540; S. 1606 ff.)